40 



BIGGI.K POULTRY BOOK. 



WATER VESSElvS. 



Water should be given to the chicks from the 

 start. It is best at all times to supply it in fountains 

 from which they can drink but cannot get in with 

 their feet. If supplied in open vessels they will foul 

 it and contract colds, bowel disease or cramps. 



A convenient water vessel for chicks 

 may be made from an old fruit can and 

 a flower-pot saucer, Figure i. Cut a notch or punch 

 a hole in the side next to tb.e opened end, have the 

 saucer just a little larger than the can, fill can with 

 water, put on saucer and invert 

 quickly. When chicks are older, 

 the stone or earthen fountain 

 shown here, Figure 2, holding a 

 half-gallon or more, can be substituted. A 

 very convenient fountain is shown in Fig- 

 3. ure 3, as the handle enables 



it to be carried around like 

 A tile fountain, preferred by some, is 

 shown in Figure 4. 



A common wooden bucket, cut down as shown 

 in the cut, makes a first-class water 

 vessel, convenient to carry. It should have a board 

 over the top, or be placed under a stool to keep the 

 water cool and to prevent the chickens from soiling' 



Fig. 



bucket. 



Fig. 



Fig. 4. 



Before feeding ground oats and ecru to little chicks sift out 

 the oat hulls. 



It is all right to have coops wind-tight, but all wrong to have 

 them air-tight. Chicks must have ventilation as well as warmth. 

 If insufficient air lie admitted, the atmosphere of the coop be- 

 comes not only foul, but damp. 



As soon as the brood is out of the coop in the morning, turn 

 it up to the sun and air and spread dry earth over the floor. 

 Whitewash the inside often. At midday turn down again. 

 " Sweetness and light " applied to coops ! 



A strip of wire netting, one-inch mesh, two feet wide and 

 about ten yards long, is "just splendid " for making a tempo- 

 rary yard for a hen and her young brood. F;asy to put up, easy 

 to move, and much better than the old style yard made of foot 

 boards set en edge. 



To make small runs for little chicks, make the sides of wide 

 boards and cover with wire netting. This is better than making- 

 high fences. Old fowls cannot get into these covered runs and 

 the chicks cannot crawl out through the wire, even if the mesh. 

 be wide. 



